BEIJING: After three years of retirement, 58-year-old Yan Qin found a new job last year with lower work and salary expectations that still provided her with a sense of satisfaction.
“I was an accountant before retirement from a State-owned company,” said the Beijing resident.
“I spent a year traveling in 2024 and started thinking about the meaning of my life. I decided to return to the job market and take some easier work. I didn’t expect higher pay, just a place to pass the time.”
Her new job is to offer support services to younger workers — such as tidying up documents and fetching parcels — which is not physically demanding, she said. “My daughter and husband are happy to see me re-involved in work,” Yan said.
Older workforce returnees like Yan are creating fresh challenges for employers and policymakers regarding their employment rights, and finding the most effective ways for them to provide “silver dividends” for society, experts said.
“It’s necessary for the government to perfect the regulations and laws to offer a sound legal basis for elderly workers to protect their working rights,” said Yang Xiaoqi, a researcher at the China Research Center on Aging.
Yang suggested the government offer tax incentives to employers hiring elderly people or provide entrepreneurial subsidies to elderly founders of startups.
Nonprofit and commercial talent pools can also be established for “silver headhunting” and to identify suitable positions for elderly workers, he said.
Li Qiang, vice-president of recruitment portal Zhaopin, said an opportunity exists to transform “elderly care pressures” into a “silver dividend” by utilizing older workers’ experience and skills.
“Many elders with a better education, rich work experience and healthy bodies are high-quality talent,” Li said.
“We previously thought the elderly should be supported by young people, but in fact they can continue creating value in the job market using their work experience, mature skills and stable outlook,” he said. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
